'Honey, You'll Never Guess What I Saw Downtown Today'

Beyond the caption, this impromptu 'street' photo requires little

explication. Scene: Buenos Aires, Argentina. Your ratings and

critiques are invited and most welcome. If you rate harshly or very

critically, please submit a helpful and constructive comment; Please

share your superior photographic knowledge to help improve my

photography. Thanks! Enjoy! John

There's a local punk (70's mohawk toting sid vicious style) who is also tattoed in entirety, he wears a six inch nail through his nose. Huddersfield (my home town) is inextricably linked with punk rock, the Sex Pistols played their final gig here on Christmas day in 1977 - anyhow I digress. If I catch sight of our local enigma, I'll shoot some photos.

This guy is most sociable; not an unkind bone in his body. I liked him -- he volunteered to take off his shirt. He was most polite and cooperate and not 'anti' or 'punk' anything.

 

Literally, he was a find' -- and a famous guy at that -- he's said to be listed in Guiness's book of records and unpaid for me -- just found him on the street, spoke briefly (across languages) and started shooting. He found the 'shooting' addictive, I think.

 

He's apparently an exhibitionist in his metier, so no comparison to your other guy (other than full-body tats)

 

John (Crosley)

'Our' guy isn't particularly vicious, just colourful - quite literally of course.

 

What I find particularly appealing here is the 'I know you're there but I'm ignoring you' look being worn by the besuited man to Lydias left (Lydia the tattoed lady - forgive me), this is what makes the photo work in my mind. Now, where is my Muppet album?

Look at the caption this way: It's the tattooed man telling his tattooed (or fat woman) wife when he goes home, "Honey, you'll never guess what I saw downtown today -- a bunch of very straaaight people, including guys in suits and 'normal' attire -- people entirely unlike 'us'."

 

'Honey, it's like they're freaks,' I can imagine him telling her about the besuited man.

 

It's all in your point of view.

 

;-))

 

John

Yeah I can see that John, but for whatever reason I hadn't read it until now - probably a junior moment. Quite amusing.

If you take your 'junior moments' and I my 'senior moments' we'll average out as 'middle-aged and maybe fall somewhere in the middle of the Bell Curve -- and we can just say we were distracted (by kids or whatever).

 

This guy was a gold mine for photos.

 

I could spend a month hauling him around the world and just planting him in various pedestrian walkways -- other venues and catching reactions to him.

 

I could fill a gallery with such images.

 

I have no fear anybody else will cadge my idea -- they don't know where to find him, (but I do, and he'd probably like it).

 

I had something else I wanted to say, but it slipped my . . . . . . . .

 

John ;-)

 

 

who knows what secrets will come out if this person in the suit, takes off HIS clothes, I have the feeling he is wearing womans underwear ;D

 

sorrrrry, it is all in my point of vieuw.......

 

Els

Your comment is most a pro pos.

 

Some people 'wear it on the outside' and display it for all the world.

 

For instance some people boil over into a public rage when offended or they feel they have been wronged, and do so immediately, then, purged, they settle into ordinary life, and feel none the worse; whereas others, fearing exposure of their inner feelings and being uncomfortable exhibiting their emotions, keep it all bottled up until either they get home and they can kick the dog/cat/hit the wife/yell at the kids/pick up their camera and take some photos '-))/ or they really keep it bottled up until they literally explode with rage over what seems to be 'nothing' but indeed is the pent-up accumulation of thousands of trivial 'humiliations' swallowed by them over time, and then what to do?

 

As to the issue of women's clothing, who's to know?

 

And, if he's wearing women's clothing, what would it mean?

 

One close person to me assumed to me out loud that if a man wore women's underwear or clothing that the man was a homosexual, but that is quite far from the truth.

 

Yes, there are many homosexual drag queens, and they are 'very gay' and committed to their homosexuality, but all those 'drag' shows in places like Las Vegas and formerly in San Francisco are not just attended by homosexuals, but also by family men who have loving wives who are aware of the size 13 pumps (American) in their closets, the 44-inch bras, and the 38-inch garter belts that are in the bureau and those wives would attest that their husbands, while not of the mainstream, are 'all man' as far as they're concerned.

 

What's normal?

 

And who cares?

 

Mainly someone who's scared of what it means not to be normal -- someone who's scared of the consequences of being themselves, or who wants to exclude from their lives others who lead different lives because they're afraid (because of ignorance usually) of such people.

 

I had no problem with Mr. Tattoo here; he's a nice guy, and he apparently has many friends judging from those I met who seem to know him, and there were many.

 

Maybe he's a paragon for the rest of us; Be yourself and be comfortable in your own skin, no matter how you adorn it.

 

And if you want literally to turn your own skin into a work of art, why not?

 

It's yours, after all.

 

John (Crosley)

The wearing of women's clothes (transvestism) is not to my taste, and is definitely not something that I would do, and I always have wondered why it is such a recurring theme in comedy and drame -- it seems an extraordinary number of great actors have dressed up in 'drag' at one time or another in their long careers, such as Dustin Hoffman in 'Tootsie' or Robin Williams, but then there were 'rumors' about Robin Williams sexuality, though there were only rumors and he's the father of at least two kids and has had at leaast two wives.

 

and a movie roll that pays several million dollars might be enough to tempt me to dress up in women's clothe and playact for a month or two before cameras; I'd be set for life after that.

 

But regrettably my briefs are Munsingwear ('not that there's anything wrong with' transvestism, mind you, as Seinfeld and his cohorts would have intoned to each other in their famous episode about homosexuality, which has made a virtual cliche out of the words 'not that there's anything wrong with x x x x')

 

And, for the life of me, I cannot fathom what it is that men see in dressing up in 'drag'.

 

But then, I am told that at the beginning of the universe there were as many as 26 different dimensions, but I can only imagine height, width and length (plus time marching forward only) for four dimensions only) and the idea of the other 22 dimensions is completely outside my ken; maybe it's just one of those things that you can't even imagine unless you've experienced it; like a man blind from birth trying to imagine 'seeing', versus a man who was blinded well after birth who has memories of the sight of things.

 

John (Crosley)

High John,

 

pffffffffffffffffffff, what a lot of words........ but what's normal???? as you said...... I have NO idea, I just printed all those words of you (I don't know if this is normal) and still don't know what to say to you (and I have a handicap being dutch so english is difficult to respond to) so what shall I say: I am not scared..... that's why I said "perhaps this man is wearing womans underwear" it is my kind of humor, I don't mind ... who am I to judge..... so I still want to say I like this picture, for me it is not shocking...

 

Els ;D

 

Sorry my posting is so lengthy its English scared you off.

 

I do have a lot of fun with 'observations' and 'essays' about things related to my photographs.

 

I have lived for some months at a time in your home country, and am especially attracted to the droll Dutch humor -- I am delighted by its subtlety.

 

I guess, as I've explained to my Dutch friends, anybody would develop a national sense of humor that's droll if they lived next to a country that started two world wars and occupied my little country twice in forty years -- one would have to be very careful what one said during those periods, and still, the Dutch persevered during those periods and carried their (subtly biting) humor forward, right under the face of the bellicose Germans, often at the expense of the Germans, without the Germans even realizing, I think.

 

I'm glad you enjoyed the photo. I do enjoy Dutch humor so much/it's among the world's best and most finely honed.

 

Maybe, Els, you recognized my 'Dutch' sense of humour in this shot(?)

 

John (Crosley)

thanks John, so you know all the dutch girls look like this ;D

I have known several Dutch girls, and a number of them were quite beautiful -- and also to their credit, they did NOT have their noses stuck in the air. They were ordinary people who had extraordinary looks, which is not so common here in the United States for a woman of superlative good looks.

 

And that is a special memory of the many, many times (and the long times) I've spent in Holland, with the Dutch in Netherlands (can you explain the difference in three lines or less? -- I think I know the difference, having read research on it once.)

 

Els, are your curtains closed or open, and are your shoes lined up in your closet, left and right shoes paired off?

 

And if your curtains were to be closed, would your neighbors think you were up to 'no good?'

 

John (Crosley)

 

;-))

 

 

In short, I love your country so much, I make every effort I can to visit whenever I can (and not just the 'red light district' which interestingly all the Italian priests AND nuns visit in groups) and know vast portions of it; having lived there for a month or two at a time. You can plop me down anywhere in central Amsterdam, and I can find my way home by just walking a block, which is difficult in one of the world's most confusing cities (it's not laid out on a grid, with its concentric and intersecting canals).

 

I have spent many happy days, even seasons in your country, regrettably without a camera and intend to return this time with one.

 

John (Crosley)

A 7/7 from you is a high honor, especially considering how very few and seldom you have given 7/7s for photos, and the high quality of photos in your highest-rated gallery.

 

I'm pleased this pleased you so much.

 

John (Crosley)

 

Nothing profound to add. When I first looked at the thumbprint, I thought it was a metal statue. Was surprised to see he was a real live person.. :)

 

I snapped a photo of a couple young ladies on the beach that are, apparently, just getting started with their tatoos. It's in my singles photos if your interested in having a look.

What a refreshing and interesting take on this.

 

You would not have had this 'take' if it were a color photo, as he has real flesh colored skin and nicely-colored, even somewhat attractive and well-thought-out tattoos, (if you're into that sort of thing, I'm not).

 

I hadn't thought of the 'statue' angle, but of course. . . . he's so different. . . . he might be one.

 

I'm continually refreshed by the views in my comment section (*gold star to you)

 

(I'm off to your gallery to see your image.)

 

John (Crosley)

 

I did not read through all the posts - for me that brings up the question: WHO is the one which is strange!? - depends on the point of view, education, situation on life etc - no one of both is wrong - both are propably intersting guys - if we only get the chance to look to them by talking. Regards Axel

In fact, the tattooed guy is a very, very nice guy. I met him on the street and talked to him about tattooes and he was wearing a shirt and other clothes, and when I asked if I could photograph him, without my asking he removed his shirt and moved without my urging into the pedestrian walkway known as Calle Lavalle (Cazhe Lavazhe is how it's pronounced in Castillian Spanish they speak in Buenos Aires (They pronounce the language dialect as Castizhan Spanish.)

 

So, we've established not only that he's a nice guy, but he's personable and cooperative. In fact, I'd like to take him around the world for some advertising TV commercials just as he is here and I think he'd go for it.

 

He says he's tattoed over 'every inch' of his body, but I didn't ask for inspection rights for any particular part -- you may guess which ;~))

 

Maybe some day I'll take my studio lights and photograph him nude.

 

About the other guy -- probably he's OK too, but we don't know.

 

We think he's OK. Why not.

 

Thanks for commenting.

 

John (Crosley)

Recently we had a televisionseries called 'tattoos and piercings'. In this program we heard the stories behind the tattoos, like a young man f.i. who had the face of his younger brother on his shoulderblade and a father who had a tattoo of his dead child on his upperarm. There were also people who had tattoos all over their body not only because they love it as Art but also because they see it as a way of living.

 

I myself do not have any tattoos, never wanted to have them either, but i think everybody have to decide for themselves and most of the tattoo-guys aren't as scary as they look. ;)

 

Best regards of another Dutch woman :)